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Fort Davidson State Historic Site

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Park Information

The Confederates under Gen. Sterling Price may have taken the fort, but Union efforts at Fort Davidson in the Battle of Pilot Knob were crucial to blunting the last Confederate offensive into Missouri. Fort Davidson State Historic Site preserves and interprets the running battle through the Arcadia Valley. The site’s open, grassy fields include the fort’s old earthworks, two Confederate burial trenches, and a visitor center with a narrated story of the battle and its context within the Civil War.

Park Hours

Historic Site Grounds:

Sunrise to sunset, year-round

Visitor Center hours

  • Summer Hours (On-Season)
    April 16 through Nov. 30
    10 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily (with the exception of Thanksgiving Day)
  • Winter Hours (Off-Season)
    Dec. 1 through April 15
    10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (with the exception of New Year's and Christmas days). 

Free tours are offered during these times.

Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
May 23, 2013
Fifty years ago, if you had arrived at the natural tunnel in Bennett Spring State Park, you would have seen a lake. Around 1964, a dam created from gravel and silt and reinforced with rebar and concrete blocked the upstream entrance of the natural tunnel. There is no record of how long the resulting lake lasted, but historical accounts state the dam failed after heavy rains, leaving only the portion of the structure seen today at the end of the trail. Walk the Natural Tunnel Trail today and imagine what it would have been like 50 years ago. For more information about this trail, other trails at the park, and all the other things you can do at Bennett Spring State Park, visit mostateparks.com.